''They Call Us Monsters'' is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. The film documents the experience of three juveniles: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava. The teenagers participate in a screenwriting class at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, California with producer

Gabriel Cowan Gabriel Cowan is an American film director, composer and film producer. He has made documentaries, horror films, dramas, and comedies. Career Gabriel Cowan was originally a musician. At 18, he worked with Robbie Robertson to score the film ...

Premise

The documentary follows three young juvenile offenders who signed up for a screenwriting class with producer

as they await their respective trials in Los Angeles County. Arrested at 16, Jarad faces 200 years-to-life for four

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

s; Juan, also arrested at 16, faces 90-to-life for

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

; Antonio was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to-life for two attempted murders.

References

American documentary films 2016 films Documentary films about children Documentary films about crime in the United States Documentary films about incarceration in the United States Films set in Los Angeles Juvenile justice system 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films {{bio-documentary-film-stub